Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 02:54:09 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Tailing or Escort

Started by bgmnts, January 18, 2021, 12:54:14 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

bgmnts

Lets put this to rest now, which is the worst mission type in the world: tailing missions or escort missions?

I think I may have to say tailing is the worst thing to have to do in a game ever. This is purely due to the fact there are some escort missions that dont make me want throw my controller at the telly. Resident Evil 4 is the prime example of a fine escorting in a game right? Is there an example of a an acceptable tailing mission?


Lemming

Tailing is clearly worse, mainly for the moments where the target just stops and turns around for no fucking reason at all. Walking down a crowded street, better just turn and elaborately look behind me apropos of nothing.

There's also car-based tailing missions, which feature the classic trick of:

"you're getting too far away from the target!"
(player drives 1 inch closer)
"YOU'RE TOO CLOSE TO THE TARGET!"

Escort missions where the person you're following moves either slightly faster or slightly slower than you are fucking unacceptable though.

Bazooka

Play Morrowind with a character with high speed and athletics and report back and say tailing is worse than escorting, without looking like a grade A berk.

Lemming

Open console
Click Sinnammu Mirpal
"setspeed 3000"

Either the escort mission is over in seconds, or she'll get stuck on the surface of water and clip away into nothingness. Death or glory.

Cerys

Quote from: Bazooka on January 18, 2021, 01:39:09 AM
Play Morrowind with a character with high speed and athletics and report back and say tailing is worse than escorting, without looking like a grade A berk.

This.

Timothy

Tailing. Those missions ruined Judgement for me.

Marner and Me

Tailing for the aforementioned car (GTA) however escorting is a pain if the NPC runs around needlessly and gets himself shot.

Poobum

Escorting Captain Keyes through the Truth and Reconciliation on Legendary difficulty is something I've only done once. Why's he so keen to run into Grunt needlers?

The Crumb

Escort missions can form the basis of a great game e.g. Ico. If done well, they can create interesting gameplay challenges or help you connect to characters.

Tailing missions have never been good, and usually have 0 mechanical depth or emotional engagement.

bgmnts

Quote from: The Crumb on January 18, 2021, 12:27:41 PM
Escort missions can form the basis of a great game e.g. Ico. If done well, they can create interesting gameplay challenges or help you connect to characters.

Tailing missions have never been good, and usually have 0 mechanical depth or emotional engagement.

Would it be possible to make a game that revolves around the mechanic of tailing someone? Maybe you're a private eye in a noir style game or something.

Bazooka

Quote from: Lemming on January 18, 2021, 02:21:25 AM
Open console
Click Sinnammu Mirpal
"setspeed 3000"

Either the escort mission is over in seconds, or she'll get stuck on the surface of water and clip away into nothingness. Death or glory.

You N'wah!

PlanktonSideburns

Quote from: bgmnts on January 18, 2021, 12:54:14 AM
Lets put this to rest now, which is the worst mission type in the world: tailing missions or escort missions?


yes

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: The Crumb on January 18, 2021, 12:27:41 PM
Escort missions can form the basis of a great game e.g. Ico. If done well, they can create interesting gameplay challenges or help you connect to characters.

Tailing missions have never been good, and usually have 0 mechanical depth or emotional engagement.
Pretty much. I can't think of any tailing missions I've played that aren't just following the target at an arbitrary distance. No doubt it would be far more difficult to make, but I'd like to see one that was based on how obviously you follow them, rather than just how closely. Perhaps your quarry makes a sudden turn down an alleyway and you have to go the long way round, to avoid suspicion.

Cuellar


Thursday

Tailing missions never make any sense.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHY IS SOMEONE SAT BEHIND ME AT A RED LIGHT??????? AND ON A BUSY MAIN ROAD?!?!?! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!"

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

And, of course, the target only ever gets paranoid about the player, never any of the NPCs who are also going in the same direction.

Mister Six

Tailing missions are worse, escort missions are almost invariably shit, insta-fail stealth missions are shitter than both. Replaying Arkham Asylum right now, and Christ does the game drag during the Scarecrow sequences, as visually entertaining as they are.

The Crumb

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on January 18, 2021, 01:47:38 PM
Pretty much. I can't think of any tailing missions I've played that aren't just following the target at an arbitrary distance. No doubt it would be far more difficult to make, but I'd like to see one that was based on how obviously you follow them, rather than just how closely. Perhaps your quarry makes a sudden turn down an alleyway and you have to go the long way round, to avoid suspicion.

I can see some of the hitman mechanics coming in to play. Disguises, doing stuff to blend in etc. But then i might as well just play hitman. I can't think of a tailing mission that's had a satisfying pay off, they're always filler between the fun bits.

Kelvin

Tailing is worse, because at least with escort missions there's a frisson of tension to it all, and it can be satisfying to finally clear one. I also don't think that the AI in modern escort missions makes them anywhere near as objectionable as the older examples that defined them.

Tailing missions are just really, REALLY boring and force you to play in the exact way you won't enjoy; slowly, haltingly, without making any noise, or doing anything exciting.

The one exception is if you can go "Meeeeeeow":  https://youtu.be/Fc4PT50AMmE?t=74

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Lemming on January 18, 2021, 01:02:24 AM
Tailing is clearly worse, mainly for the moments where the target just stops and turns around for no fucking reason at all. Walking down a crowded street, better just turn and elaborately look behind me apropos of nothing.
That actually sounds like it could make for some good moments of tension if it's done well. You can't just stop when they do, because it would be obvious that you're following them, so you'd have to walk/drive past, keeping one eye on them and one on the road ahead. With all this newfangled raytracing, maybe you'd keep an eye on the tailee by watching their reflection in a shop window or wing mirror.

The one thing that this hypothetical good tailing mission would not have is a distance meter.

Bently Sheds

Tailing that little leaf fucker in Breath of the Wild did my nut in. The bastard kept turning round and walking towards me, even when I was ready for it & squatting in the long grass he still clocked me.

There was an escort mission in Jak 2 that infuriated me so much I vowed never to finish the game or play any sequels.

In conclusion, then; both shit.

falafel

Has any game ever attempted a mission where you have to tail someone whilst also preventing them getting killed?

Bazooka

Quote from: falafel on January 25, 2021, 06:51:27 AM
Has any game ever attempted a mission where you have to tail someone whilst also preventing them getting killed?

Most definitely, exhilarating.

Magnum Valentino

Can I just throw 'boss fight with regenerating health' in here as something that annoys me just as much as all of the above?

Bazooka

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on January 25, 2021, 08:40:47 AM
Can I just throw 'boss fight with regenerating health' in here as something that annoys me just as much as all of the above?

Escorting a boss with health regen?  Sounds awful.